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MLB Player News

  • Reds' Keegan Thompson: Designated for assignment

    The Reds designated Thompson for assignment Saturday.

    Thompson signed a major-league contract with the Reds in November, but he'll now be kicked off the 40-man roster to make room for JJ Bleday. The 30-year-old Thompson owns a 3.64 ERA across his MLB career but spent the entire 2025 campaign with the Cubs' Triple-A affiliate, posting a 4.43 ERA and 1.42 WHIP over 65 innings.

  • J.J. Bleday LF | CIN

    Reds' JJ Bleday: Headed to Cincy

    Bleday signed a one-year, $1.4 million contract with the Reds on Saturday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

    Bleday was let go by the Athletics earlier this offseason after slashing .212/.294/.404 with 14 homers, 39 RBI and 48 RBI across 344 MLB plate appearances in 2025. The 28-year-old slugger will provide the Reds with another left-handed bat in the outfield alongside Will Benson and TJ Friedl, but there's no guarantee that Bleday will get to start regularly against right-handed pitchers.

  • Blue Jays' Ricky Tiedemann: Expected to be fully healthy for ST

    Tiedemann (elbow) is expected to be fully healthy in time for camp, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

    Tiedemann missed the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in July of 2024, and he has totaled just 140 innings in the minors since being drafted by Toronto in 2021. Despite that, it was still an easy call for the Blue Jays to add Tiedemann to the 40-man roster in November for Rule 5 protection. While the hard-throwing lefty has flashed high upside and is close to full health, Tiedemann is highly unlikely to handle a big workload in 2026 given all the missed time. "Hopefully he's a factor for us in our rotation," GM Ross Atkins said. "That's the plan, but we would be open to him impacting the team in a bulk role or some creative way, depending on how things are going."

  • Athletics' Tyler Soderstrom: Inks $86 million contract extension

    The Athletics signed Soderstrom to a seven-year, $86 million contract extension Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports. The deal includes a club option for 2033.

    The deal buys out at least three free-agent years and can max out at $131 million if Soderstrom reaches all of the escalators in the contract. Soderstrom broke out in 2025 in his first full major-league season, slashing .276/.346/.474 with 25 home runs and 93 RBI. He also learned to play left field on the fly and took to it surprisingly well, finishing as a Gold Glove finalist. Soderstrom will be only 31 in the final year of the contract if the Athletics pick up his option, so it's a deal that is likely to be very team-friendly if he continues his upward trajectory.

  • Owen White RP | CHW

    Owen White: Headed to KBO

    White signed a one-year contract with the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization on Wednesday, Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net reports.

    White has struggled during his brief stints in the big leagues, allowing 20 earned runs over just 14 innings in his MLB career. He fared a bit better at Triple-A Charlotte in 2025, posting a 4.44 ERA and 1.44 WHIP over 81 frames, and he'll now aim to further hone his craft overseas.

  • Michael Chavis 2B | CIN

    Reds' Michael Chavis: Signs minors deal with Reds

    Chavis signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Wednesday that includes an invitation to big-league spring training, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN.com reports.

    Chavis spent the entirety of 2025 with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, slashing .291/.350/.547 with 13 homers, 45 RBI and 45 runs scored across 283 plate appearances. The 30-year-old infielder will get a chance to compete for a roster spot during spring camp, but he'll most likely return to the minors to begin the '26 campaign.

  • Matt Mervis 1B | WAS

    Nationals' Matt Mervis: Coming home on minors pact

    Mervis signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Wednesday, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

    Mervis, who turns 28 shortly after Opening Day, has a career .165/.238/.322 slash line with 10 home runs, a 7.7 percent walk rate and a 34.5 percent strikeout rate in 261 MLB plate appearances over the past three seasons. He has been worth -1.5 fWAR over that span, in part because he is also a negative defender at first base. Mervis is a native of Washington D.C. and will be competing with players like Jose Tena, Warming Bernabel and Yohandy Morales for opportunities this year if injuries strike the big club.

  • Pete Fairbanks RP | MIA

    Marlins' Pete Fairbanks: Lands in Miami on one-year deal

    Fairbanks and the Marlins agreed Wednesday on a one-year, $13 million contract, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

    Tampa Bay declined Fairbanks' $11 million club option for 2026 earlier this offseason, but the reliever ended up securing an extra $2 million after hitting the open market. The deal also includes a $1 million signing bonus and another $1 million in appearance-based incentives, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The Marlins took a committee approach to the closer position in 2025, but Fairbanks' contract should give him some security as the Marlins' preferred ninth-inning man heading into spring training. Though staying healthy has often been an issue for Fairbanks throughout his career, he continued to pitch effectively in his age-31 season in 2025, logging a 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 59:18 K:BB while converting 27 of 32 save chances across 60.1 innings with the Rays.

  • Ryan O'Hearn 1B | PIT

    Pirates' Ryan O'Hearn: Gets $29 million from Pirates

    The Pirates signed O'Hearn to a two-year, $29 million contract Tuesday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

    He'll have the opportunity to stretch the total guarantee to $30 million if he reaches $500,000 in incentives each year of the deal. O'Hearn has slashed .277/.343/.445 over the last three regular seasons between the Orioles and Padres and made his first All-Star team in 2025. The left-handed hitter reversed a career trend and hit better versus lefties (.832 OPS) than righties (.795 OPS) in 2025, so he could be an everyday player in Pittsburgh. With Spencer Horwitz manning first base, O'Hearn will likely see most of his playing time at designated hitter.

  • Jacob Webb RP | CHC

    Cubs' Jacob Webb: Grabs MLB pact from Cubs

    The Cubs signed Webb to a one-year contract Tuesday that includes a club option for 2027, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

    Webb was non-tendered by the Rangers last month even after posting a 3.00 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 58:19 K:BB across 66 innings during the 2025 season. The 32-year-old right-hander should fill a middle-relief role in the Cubs' bullpen.

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